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Saturday, 29 December 2018

HIGHLAND ADVENTURE - NC500 ROUTE - DAY FIVE

The views from our accommodation window in the morning were lovely, Castle Varrich in the distance overlooking the loch, definitely beats our usual bedroom views at home!

After breakfast, the plan for the day was to travel along the NC500 route as far as Thurso. Then travel along the A9 to Wick were we had accommodation for the night (we had planned to stay in Thurso, but changed at last minute.) The first stop on the route was Strathy Point. Here stands a lighthouse that is pretty much central on the Northern coastline. It’s a fair walk from the car park but there is spectacular views on both sides of the lighthouse across the coastline. I had hoped to see whales or dolphins here, as they are quite a common sight in this area, but unfortunately we didn’t have much luck when it came to spotting them!

Once we headed back to the car we decided to carry on further down the coast towards Dunnet. As we were driving we spotted what looked like another beautiful beach with golden sands, so we followed the single track road down to see what it was like.

Once we reached the beach, which we later discovered is called Melvich, we were definitely not disappointed! Despite it being quite a windy and chilly day, the beach still looked amazing and the water such a turquoise colour

After a lovely walk along the sand dunes we headed back to the car, as I was quite eager to get to Dunnet Bay distillery, which is where Rock Rose Gin is made.

Unfortunately due to the tours being popular we weren’t able to see the distilling process but they do have a gift shop. The lovely lady who was working in the shop was quite happy for us to sample the different gins if we wanted (which obviously we did!)

The last stop of the day was Dunnets Head which is in actual fact the most northerly point in mainland Britain. Here it is higher up so you have a 360 degree view of the surrounding area, meaning you can also spy the Orkney Isles.

Once we’d had enough exploring it was time to head to Wick for some hot food and a hot shower. Someone needs to tell Scotland it’s summer!